Top 10 Book Covers Featuring Animals | TTT

Posted on by Lauren

Hello, everyone! Although mornings are still cold, it’s really starting to feel like spring is springing. The local farmers markets are opening (one of which I visited this past Saturday) and the days are getting greener and brighter. It’s a very welcomed change of pace!

In the spirit of the season, I decided to reflect on some of my favorite books featuring animals on the cover. I’d known that some of my favorites have something related to birds but I hadn’t realized until now just how many there are!

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

1. According to Their Kinds by Abigail Anklam

I found a copy of According to Their Kinds at a local thrift store and while it’s a bit sad that the previous owner didn’t want it, I’m glad to dedicate space to local authors on my bookshelf! This collection features a series of sweet stories all surrounding animals — a very apt choice for this list.

2. Wand by Landra Jennings

I won a copy of Wand in a Goodreads giveaway and it was such a lovely read. There’s nothing like a sweet middle grade story to pull me out of a reading slump, and this one is a great choice for spring!

3. Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

I was a little surprised by how much I loved Black Sheep. You may want to check the content warnings if you’re a bit squeamish but I’d highly recommend this to fans of horror, specifically of the cultish inclination!

4. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

When I think of my favorite books, I always think first of my favorites at fifteen because they were the ones that hit the hardest, piercing right to the core of my being. I’ve named Ava Dellaira’s Love Letters to the Dead and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo many times, and The Astonishing Color of After fits right into this triumvirate. It’s a beautiful coming of age story tackling grief, belonging, and love — so, so good!

5. Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

I have extremely mixed feelings about this spin-off series of The Raven Cycle in that I love Call Down the Hawk like it was pulled from my own soul and abhor where the trilogy wound up. Despite the later negative feelings, I really adored the first installment. It has a more mature, action-bent feeling than The Raven Cycle but carries the previous series’ beloved characters over well, making the shift feel natural and engaging!

6. Bunny by Mona Awad

I’ve been really wanting to reread Bunny for a little while now and it’s especially been on my mind with spring on the rise. The pink cover and bunny motif feel very of the time even if the contents are a little more befuddling than your average fluffy springtime story…

7. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

This genre-bendy love story is set in a conceptually fascinating but elusive world, relayed half in narration and half in doting correspondence. It’s not something I’d typically pick up but it’s a sweet novella for anyone seeking a romance in a speculative setting.

8. The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle, #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Seriously, don’t even get me started on my love for this series. As mentioned, I have mixed feelings about its spinoff series and that’s because of how irrevocably I adore the characters, the world, the magic, the mood, the prose, and every fiber of these stories. My annual reread of The Raven Boys is impending, and I’m very much looking forward to it!

9. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Hunger Games, #0) by Suzanne Collins

This slot could go for any of the books in this series but I’m hoping to finally read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes this month so it wins the spot! I really enjoyed the movie and I’m looking forward to the closer narrative of reading the book first hand. Let’s see if I actually find time…

10. Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo

I know we’re probably all tired of talking and hearing about the Grishaverse but I love the Crows way too much to stop buzzing! And I feel like it’s a fair place to mention them. With fantastic world-building and characterizations, the Six of Crows duology is hugely near and dear to my heart as well as a significant influence for my own personal writing. If I wasn’t very actively battling the desire to reread all of my favorites, I think I could’ve perused these pages a million times more than I already have!

Have you read any of the books on this list? Did you like them? Why, or why not? What books did you mean to read/finish last year that you didn’t get to? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!

[DISCLAIMER: Photos in this post may be paired with Amazon affiliate links, meaning I’d earn a small commission from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!]

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Published by Lauren

Hi! I’m Lauren (she/her, 22), and I like to read and write; I’m still trying to figure out the rest.

9 thoughts on “Top 10 Book Covers Featuring Animals | TTT”

    1. Thank you! It really is so fascinating how many directions it can be taken — and apparently it works because I keep picking those books up! Happy reading. 🙂

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